Connections
by Carson Court
Summary: Jaune Arc is attending Beacon with his friend Yang Xaio Long, adoptive sister Blake Belladonna, acquaintance/friend Weiss Schnee and his rival Cardin Winchester. Hormones rage as the four friends are put on the same team and explore the new found world of love. Rated M for playful swearing, possible violence or sexual situations. Vote for your favorite Jaune ship!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, and Welcome to Connections! In this story there will be Empire (WeissxJaune), Lunar Eclipse (BlakexJaune) and Year of the Dragon (YangxJaune) and some Arkos. It's my own little take on RWBY where Jaune knows the four girls of Team RWBY either directly or by extension. I will be counting votes for the main ship to portray in the next chapter, so all of those four girls will be open. **

**NOTE: I won't do any RubyxJaune since in my mind, Ruby is still a kid and is not really mature enough for the content that this will contain, whether it be language or violence/gore or MAYBE a lemon or two, I don't know. **

**I will try to get past the canon stuff and I'm sorry about this but I have to set up the story when you are planning to change the teams. (MWAHAHAHAHA) **

**Anyways, don't forget to vote if you want to influence the next chapter, also any constructive criticism is appreciated cause I want to evolve as a writer to BECOME THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS. (haha, I'm not above references in future chapters)  
**

**So drop me a follow if you liked it or a favorite if you_ really_ liked it and all of your support is appreciated!**

**Thanks,**

**Court**

* * *

As he stepped onto the dust plane he noticed three rather obvious things:

#1- That motion sickness medicine was certainly not going to hold up to the extended turbulence of this ride,

#2- He had the most boring weapon out of all of the incoming freshmen and couldn't help but wonder if they were compensating for something or that their teachers/mentors thought it would be perfectly reasonable to give guns and various incendiary devices to hormone laden teenagers, and

#3- Weiss Schnee's new album that she released under the alias, Casey Lee Williams was playing. He knew that it was her because he helped her with it under the false name of Jeff Williams.

He struggled to keep a passive face as he looked around for a seat where he could focus on not losing his lunch. He saw an open seat and sat down heavily, planting his face in his hands and closed his eyes. Five minutes passed before he heard a pair of heels clanking against the metal floor and a familiar icy draft of wind. He didn't look up.

"Hello, Weiss." He heard the all to familiar sigh/grunt of grudging admiration come from the heiress. He wasn't surprised; though she was generally a good person, her upbringing had caused her to be brash, quick to anger and ice cold to anyone.

"How did you know it was me?" He could see her face in his mind's eye from all the times she asked him to explain how he had been able to read her actions. A mixture of curiosity and anger with a bit of humility that he had put there when he explained to her how he was able to put a nail on her personality through just her upbringing. After that she began to respect both him and his work a bit more.

"Heels and your aura." He'd explained it to her before, though she didn't seem to learn that she emitted a chilly wind whenever she was annoyed. He always forgot to mention it to her when she wasn't annoyed and he never wanted to risk telling her when she was. He'd rather not get hypothermia in the middle of summer. The heels were another matter. She had gotten better at softening her footfalls, but it's hard to walk quietly on metal even without heels.

"Ah. Of course. Metal floors." She noted. Jaune looked up with a slight smile that Weiss returned for a second before catching herself. She looked away while Jaune chuckled, causing his stomach to bubble precariously. Grimacing, he held his stomach while Weiss raised an eyebrow in amusement. Jaune shot a glare at her as he staggered over to a trash can, heaving into it. He felt a small hand pat his back. He glanced back at a Weiss that was staring off at the news that was being projected on a window with a single hand on his back, patting it. Jaune smiled inwardly, he wasn't the only person who felt a bit off kilter from the new school.

"Um, Weiss?" She flinched and pulled her hand off of the blonde's back, sending him a wary look. "Whatcha doing?" He tried to use some comedy to lighten the odd tension between them. Her face softened briefly before reverting to the usual icy stare.

"I'm helping a friend." His eyebrows shot up.

"I'm your friend?" This earned him a glare and a whack on the back of the head.

"Of course you are, Lancelot. Anymore stupid questions?" He rolled his eyes at the nickname that she had given him during recording when they learned they were both attending Beacon. He mentioned something about living up to his grandfather's legacy and when she found out that to him, it meant becoming a knight, she came up with the name 'Lancelot' after a famous knight of legend from the first age of the world. It took five free, redeemable-at-any-time massage coupons for her to not put it in the digital booklet for the album. She still had all five, not having used any yet.

"Yes. Are we there yet?" They felt a jolt as the dust plane landed at Beacon's tarmac. Weiss shot him a grin, not even bothering to conceal it this time.

"It would seem so."

* * *

As he fell face first onto the soft grass of Beacon's front lawn, Weiss excused herself, saying that she needed to observe the transport of her luggage before rushing off. Jaune knew that her fighting style was based around dust, so he assumed that was ninety percent of her luggage. The blissful smell of grass wiped his mind of anything but a ground that didn't sway around. He heard a rustling of grass as someone or two someones walked up.

"Sup, Vomit Boy." He laughed, not looking up. Only one person still remembered that time in freshman year of Signal Academy, when he got extremely sick on the bus to go and see the Vystral tournament. Throughout the rest of the time at Signal, everyone else was to busy fawning over Cardin Winchester to notice Jaune Arc, except her and his sister/friend. When he got into Beacon, only two people weren't completely caught off guard. One was her. The other knew he would.

"Fuck you, Dragonfire." He grinned at the busty blonde who replied with the usual.

"You would." He stood up and gave her a high five. He finished the greeting.

"Anyone would." They collapsed into fits of giggles, getting a very bewildered look from the younger girl. When they recovered, they shared a quick hug.

"It's good to see you, Jaune."

"You too, Yang. If I could hazard a guess, I'd say that this is your little sister, Ruby."

"The same. Apparently, she ran into Mr. Torchwick and beat up a bunch of his goons. Ozpin and Goodwitch saw and offered her a place."

"If that's all it took to get into Beacon, I'd be graduated by now!" He smiled warmly at the cloaked girl, causing her to regain her voice, though not without a blush.

"H-hi. I'm Ruby." He stifled a giggle at the response and grinned again.

"Jaune Arc. Resident underdog, goofball and quite possibly the most interesting person at Beacon." Yang laughed.

"Sure, if you count knowing plenty of foreign languages interesting. And being a really good singer. And scoring the highest on the strategist test last year. And beating the hell out of Cardin during finals week. Huh, you actually are pretty interesting, Jaune." Jaune arched an eyebrow and looked at Yang with a reproachful glare. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Anyways, I've got to show Ruby around since I had time to research the school unlike her. Just wanted to say hello."

"Hello, Yang. Goodbye, Yang." She rolled her eyes as she waved back at him, dragging Ruby behind her.

* * *

The forest was completely silent, except for the occasional rustle from behind him. He pulled out his phone, dialing a number from his favorites list. He held the phone up to his ear, listening to the ringing when suddenly, a phone behind him rang. A girl's voice swore. He turned with a smug grin on his face. Blake Belladonna walked up with a slight flush on her face. He put his hands up in a playfully challenging manner.

"Come on, Blake. A mouse could hear you coming, with these rustling leaves." She punched him on the chest, harder than usual.

"It's not my fault, Mr. I-have-better-hearing-than-a-barn-owl. You were born with a genetic mutation, you know that?" A slight smile graced the face of the Faunus girl, her amber eyes glinting in the sunlight that filtered through the leafy treetops.

"And accept it. It's the only thing you can do with these sort of things." He held his arms out in a welcoming manner. She gladly slipped into his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent of freshly zested oranges. It brought back memories.

_A black haired Faunus girl was welcomed into a home that smelled of citrus fruit and vanilla, the only child having helped her out of a rally of the White Fang that had turned violent. The boy introduced her to his parents, who were very kind, despite her Faunus heritage. They gave her dinner and asked where she lived. She said that she didn't have a home and they offered her a place to stay. The boy, Jaune, was particularly stubborn. He didn't take no for an answer, and when she finally conceded, he whisked her away to his room which was chock full of books. He asked her if she could read, offering to teach her when she shook her head shyly. She stayed there, reading with Jaune, for weeks. Jaune's parents, Alice and Jonah, were obviously happy to have her there. They helped her with getting caught up in school so she could attend Second Grade with Jaune the following fall. School was scary for her. She put a bow over her ears the first day so the other kids wouldn't notice. Jaune had called her pretty, causing her to blush. The following Christmas, after much talk, the Arcs adopted her. She had never been so happy in her life. She and Jaune grew up together, sharing everything with each other. They went to the first dance at Signal together, since no one wanted to get close to 'Vomit Boy' as he became known as. They came home early and made Vanilla Orange Cake, a family tradition. Jonah and Alice weren't home, having gone on a vacation to the northern reaches of Vale. No one was there when Jaune dropped an orange and they both ducked down to grab it, clunking their heads together. No one was there when Jaune brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, telling her that she was beautiful. No one was there when they shared the surprisingly perfect cake on the couch, watching _Tangled_. No one was there when she pecked Jaune on the lips, bringing a flush to his face. No one was there when he pulled her in for another kiss, longer than the first. No was was there when they curled up under the same blanket, like usual, for they had been sleeping in the same bed for years, but this time her head rested on his chest and his arm was wrapped around her waist and they slept, waking up to each other._

"Someone's clingy today, huh?" Jaune's pleasant voice thrummed through his chest, waking her up to reality. She looked up, her eyes meeting his concerned blue ones.

"Sorry, just reminiscing."

"About what?"

"About us. When I met you. Your parents, school, getting adopted, the dance. About what might have happened if you never saw me in the crowd. We wouldn't be 'Us'." She felt him plant a kiss on her forehead, the warmth lingering for a moment after he pulled away.

"Well it happened, and amazingly enough, 'Us' is my favorite people and I wouldn't trade 'Us' for anything in the world. What ever we are." She understood what he meant. She wasn't entirely sure of their relationship at the moment either. But she knew that no matter what happened, she wanted to have Jaune Arc in her life in one way or another. She pecked him on the lips, tasting a bit of chocolate. She pulled back.

"Chocolate?" He shrugged.

"Weiss introduced me to it while we were working on the album. I enjoyed the milk chocolate, but dark is too bitter for me." Their phones dinged at the same time, drawing their attention. Blake read it out loud.

"'All students report to the auditorium immediately.' Alright, let's go. So how was Ms. Schnee?" She thinly veiled the dis-contempt in her voice. She was not a fan of the labor practices that the largest Dust company in Vale had with the Faunus working force. They started walking back to the school.

"Alright. She was a first class bitch at the beginning, but I made her eat her words when we did Red Like Roses Part II. Then she warmed up a bit. She's here, you know. I caught up with her on the plane."

"Hmm. Cool. You'll have to introduce me."

"Now, now Blake. She doesn't have anything to do with the company. That's her father."

"Hmph. Fine. So what's with the name 'Red Like Roses Part II'? It's a bit strange."

"Yeah, I know. Weiss glared at me when I asked so I dropped it." Blake rolled her eyes at the blonde next to her.

"So, an heiress who has most likely been pampered her whole life scares you? My, my, Jaune. What happened to your stoutness?"

"Hey! She's really scary, okay? You'll see, she gets really angry really quickly." Blake chuckled as they walked into the auditorium. Yang waved them over.

"Jaune! Blake! Over here!" Jaune was distracted by a passing person with ginger hair who flew past him. A black haired boy steadied him, apologizing before running after the girl. Blake grabbed his hand, ignoring the sudden lurch of her stomach, and pulled him over to the boisterous blonde and her little sister. Ruby started complaining about a something to do with an explosion while the others looked doubtful. Jaune felt a gust of cold air brush past him and froze, _Dear Gods, don't let that be who I think it is._ Sure, enough, Weiss Schnee burst out of nowhere and started yelling at the young and confused girl. The other three watched the display with varying levels of interest. Yang was listening closely, trying to determine if her sister's tale was true. ("You _actually _exploded.") Blake was amazed the Jaune was right and that this, short, petite heiress was actually quite terrifying. Jaune was just glad that he wasn't getting yelled at. Weiss took a breath and before she could start yelling again, Jaune decided to interfere.

"Weiss, it was an accident. I'm sure she didn't mean to." The snow haired girl looked up and her eyes widened.

"Oh, uh, Jaune. I was-" She was cut off by Professor Ozpin who stepped up to the microphone.

"I'll keep this brief. You have all traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge will only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He turned around and walked off, letting an angry looking Professor Goodwitch step up to the now vacant microphone.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow you will take the first step."

* * *

"Jaune?"

"Hmm?" He was laying on his back, looking at a rather curious pattern on the Ballroom ceiling while Blake was reading her book.

"You were quite right about Weiss." He let out an endearing chuckle that Blake had fallen in love with over the years.

"Yeah. She's actually a good person but has trouble opening up. She had a rough childhood, with the targeting of Schnee family members and her father isolating her in Schnee Manor. She doesn't really know how to make friends. So don't be to hard on her. She's more lost than we are."

"We're pretty lost."

"But we know each other well. Weiss doesn't have that." As if on cue, Blake noticed the heiress stalking over to Ruby and Yang who were getting some water. She pointed over at the impending conflict and Jaune cringed. He gave the Faunus girl a quick scratch behind her ears, earning a purr in response.

"Gonna go head that off. Last thing we need is a pissed off Weiss." He hopped up and walked/jogged before Weiss could reach the now quarreling sisters.

* * *

She was going to give that clumsy girl a lesson. She could feel her hair which was now released from her ponytail bouncing against her back as she stalked towards the troublemaker and her sister. She was getting close to the unlikely sisters when she felt a rather large arm hook through hers and pull her away. She pulled against the unknown person, resulting in a chuckle from the boy.

"Weiss, try and not alienate yourself from our classmates just yet. It is literally the first day." The ever smiling face of Jaune Arc looked down at her, this time with small smirk on his lips. He pulled her into an empty classroom and sat her down. To both of their surprise, she followed with little resistance. Her heart was pounding. This felt like a scene from one of the romance novels that she secretly loved. The worst thing was that even her companion had features that would grace those suave gentlemen. He was handsome, no one could deny that, but also seemed unaware of his attractiveness. When he had insisted on taking her out the day that they finished the album, only she noticed the looks that other women gave him, their eyes lingering on his tall and lean frame, his ocean blue eyes and his perfectly formed lips. She caught herself looking at those same desired features as he stirred a steaming cup of something, probably tea. He looked up and saw her looking at him. He smiled and held out the cup.

"Here, it looks like you could use something to calm you down." She took the cup, letting the fine aroma of pure dark chocolate wash over her. She took a sip, wiggling in delight. She quickly drained the cup, letting the smooth and delightfully bitter dark chocolate wash into her stomach. She looked back at the blonde who was drinking his own cup of hot chocolate, albeit at a slower pace.

"Thanks Jaune. I'm just really stressed out right now." Jaune smiled at her with an arched eyebrow. "I-I mean, idiot! What were you thinking? I could have snapped and killed you or something!" She tried to put up her angry facade again, but failed when Jaune put his hand on her shoulder and patted it lightly.

"I was thinking that you needed a friend." She felt a blush as she looked up into his eyes.

"A-a friend?" She tried to glare at him but it was hard since her eyes has tears welling up in them. To her dismay, Jaune noticed her eyes that were now swimming with tears. He walked over and squatted in front of her, using a single thumb to wipe away the first that spilled over. She shuddered at the close contact between the two, closing her eyes and forcing the rest of the tears out. She felt a silky cloth wipe away her tears. She finally just let her heart spill out.

"I'm just so scared, Jaune. I don't know anybody and this place is huge and I don't want to get more attention just because I'm a Schnee and I just want friends. Like more than you cause you're not a girl. Do-do you understand?" She felt a large hand, still damp from the tears that she had spilled onto it, on her knee.

"Yes. I do. The only friends I had at Signal were Blake, who's basically my sister, and Yang, and our friendship is based off insulting each other and lewd jokes. I promise that I understand. I want to help you, okay?" She nodded, not wanting to trust her voice to not betray the myriad of emotions that were swirling inside.

"Weiss, I want you to tell me everything. I can and will help you but I am asking you to trust me, okay?" She nodded and hiccuped lightly.

"O-okay. I'm jealous of Yang and Ruby and Blake. They all had someone growing up with them, but not me. I was lucky to see people other than my direct family, let alone someone my age. A-and-" She made a gesture like a semicircle near her bosom. "-I feel immature compared to them. I don't have the social skills. I don't have the caring family. I don't have the-" She made the motion again. "I just feel... ignorable." She finally opened her eyes, looking into Jaune's, who made no effort to hide the worry in them. He slowly pulled her into a hug, giving her the chance to pull away, but she didn't, she just leaned in, resting her head against his shoulder while her hands laid against his chest. She felt him place a kiss on her snow white hair, bringing a flush to her pale cheeks. She was suddenly very glad that her face was buried in his chest. He spoke against her head, moving her hair.

"Weiss, you are not easy to ignore. You may not be as... horizontally gifted as the others, but you are still beautiful."

"But my scar-"

"Is a testament to your bravery. When I look at it I always wonder how you didn't lose your eye, but then I remember that you're a Schnee, and Schnees are strong." She felt his hand move down her back, following her hair, sending quivers through her body. He noticed and looked down at her. "Are you cold?"

"N-no. Yes. I-I don't know." He cocked an eyebrow at her in amused confusion. She pushed him unexpectedly, causing him to fall on his butt, rolling to lessen the impact. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, it looks like someone is feeling better, Snow Angel." She walked over and stood over him, holding her hand out. He grinned and grabbed it and pulled her down, so she was lying on him, his face less than an inch away from hers. She reached up and brushed the stray lock of golden hair away from his eye, smiling softly. She moved so her lips were so close that she felt his almost non-existent breaths on her face.

"Shut up Lancelot." She moved in, closing the distance but catching his cheek as he looked over in fear at something.

It was Ozpin. He gave them a smile smirk.

"Curfew's in ten minutes. Be in bed by then." He turned and slowly walked away. He turned slightly.

"Be glad that Professor Goodwitch wasn't the one the catch you."

* * *

**Please don't kill me, but this certainly was necessary for the plot.**

**On another note, I don't know who Jaune's Partner will be yet! So vote who, out of Blake, Weiss or Yang, who want it to be. This will shape almost the entire storyline so it's important that I leave it up to you, my (hopefully) faithful viewers!**

**Thanks for Reading,**

**Court**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I am a horrible person, I do realize, but with Prom, School and generally becoming more comfortable with actually being social, I got some crazy writer's block.**

**First, I should really say thank you! You guys started blowing this story up and I was really amazed by the response, all of which was good! Thank You! **

**For the partner, I chose who I did because I felt that it would strengthen her bonds to Jaune, but the ship is still up for grabs. I dropped a really big reference later on in this chapter, along with Jaune suggesting Elaine as a nickname for his partner which I cannot remember what it was at all, so... Crazy Kudos if you can pick it up.**

**Don't forget to drop this story a follow if you like it and a favorite if you _really_ liked it.**

**Thank You again,**

**Court**

* * *

_25-2-14_, Jaune spun the lock on his locker with quick, sharp movements, pulling the locker open and pulling out his sword and shield.

Crocea Mors was just the same as it always was. Gleaming, cloaked with a deadly edge, and sharper and sturdier than a katana. It was a fearsome weapon, with the sword being unnaturally strong and light. His great grandfather had smithed it himself, using an interesting technology from the past age, something called 'carbon nanotubes'. This allowed the weapon to bend instead of breaking when it took a heavy blow from the side, unlike most weapons. However, the shield was much more modern. His ancestors had an uncanny ability to shatter their shields, resulting in plenty of sheathe/shield remakes. This one was built his father and, if he channeled a bit of his aura into it, turned into a gauntlet. Despite the damage that it dealt, he didn't like the transformation. He always thought it was a bit short-sighted to not have both a long range and short range weapon. But, he made do with what he had.

He heard Yang and Ruby arguing about something involving milk. Not wanting to get involved, he walked over to Weiss who was talking with a familiar looking red head. He waved at the Heiress who, again, surprisingly, waved back and beckoned him over.

"Jaune, this is Pyrrha Nikos, graduated at the top of her class at Sanctum, four time Vystral tournament winner and Pumpkin Pete's sponsor." Jaune smiled at the girl who looked a bit annoyed to have been introduced this way. She must have wanted to be normal for once in her life. He realized that Weiss was still talking. "...Arc, top of his class at Signal, highest ever scorer on The Ulysses end of term tactical exam, written and practical, and the owner of the most powerful aura I've ever seen."

He couldn't help be a bit embarrassed. He only told her that he had scored so high on the world wide tests to get her to stop lecturing him on various topics with swordplay. Pyrrha looked a bit happier, she knew that he was another big shot who wanted to just be normal.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was you written score?"

"I-uh, 112%."

"Results of the practical?"

"All hostages released without injury and all kidnappers in custody."

"...Wow."

"Thanks, I don't like talking about it. It makes me feel…"

"-important. Too, important."

"Exactly." They shared a quick smile as the intercom announced, _ALL FIRST YEAR STUDENTS PROCEED TO THE LAUNCH ZONE._

"Launch Zone?"

"That doesn't sound good."

* * *

As he slammed into the tree branch, his shield sprung open, tumbling to the ground. He groaned as he slipped of the branch and fell onto the grassy ground flat on his back. He heard a rustling behind him and scrambled to pick up his fallen shield. He vaulted over it, slipping his hand through the arm guard and rolling to a kneeling position. He readied his arm as a familiar face popped out of the bush.

"Jaune?" The familiar voice of a certain Weiss Schnee wound into his ears, her usually annoyed eyes surprisingly bright. She had a few twigs caught in her usually straight snow white hair, giving it the illusion of a waterfall that got several trees stuck in it but the water just flowed around it. She walked up to him and stood in front of him, crossing her arms.

"Hey Snow Angel."

"No."

"No what?"

"Not Snow Angel."

"Oh. ...Ice Princess?"

"Nope."

"Elaine?"

"_Elaine?__"_

"No clue."

"How about just Weiss?"

"Nope. If got a nickname, you need one. I'll think on it. Let's go partner." He held out his hand. Weiss took it and pulled him into a crushing hug. She looked up at him.

"Weiss?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet."

"We should get moving."

* * *

He groaned as a flash of yellow shot towards him as he clung to the feet of the Nevermore. He heard the usually boisterous voice of Yang yell out.

"Jaune! Hold on!"

"WHAT DO THINK I'M DOING, YOU DAFT DRAGON?"

"...Geez, sorry." The Nevermore shuddered from the impacts of Yang's punches causing Jaune to slip off slowly.

"Shit. This is bad." He swung his right hand which had been grasping his sword tightly, up at the bird wildly. It stuck in it's breast and the Nevermore went limp, dropping from the sky.

"This is really bad." He pulled on his sword, failing to remove it from the breast of the Nevermore.

"Uh-oh." He scrambled up the giant raven, but his hands slipped off the oily feathers and he fell, colliding with the hard talons of the Nevermore. As his head met the talon, everything went dark.

Weiss paled as she saw her friend plummeting towards the ground, limp as a doll. She stopped thinking and just acted, her body taking over. She shot towards what she believed to be the landing zone, pulling out Myrnecaster. Deaf ears listened as her mouth yelled words branded in her mind for as long as she could remember, causing a light blue net to erupt from her sword. Everything stopped as Jaune plummeted into the seemingly intangible net. The boy landed safely in the net as the Nevermore slammed into the ground behind him. The gathered initiates watched in awe as they saw the Arc family heirloom hilt deep in the chest of bird.

The moment of silence was broken as an orange haired girl slammed an Ursa upside the jaw so hard that the bear-like creature landed at the center of the clearing. She bounded over to Weiss, Yang and Blake who were all crowded around the boy. She was soon joined by an eastern boy who introduced himself as Ren and the boisterous girl as Nora. He was closely followed by Ruby and her partner, Pyrrha.

"HI!" She screamed, causing the rest to jump. As the three recovered from the mini heart attacks from the sudden appearance of the girl now known as Nora, three more figures emerged from the treeline and gawked at the dead Grimm and the now stirring boy on the ground. Weiss noticed and immediately pulled out a dust capsule. She snapped it like a glow stick, breaking the crystal inside and the release of energy caused the container to expend to the size of a Nalgene with ice cold water inside. She raised it to Jaune's lips and he sipped it, appreciating the relief on his dry throat.

"Hey, can I have a drink?" Yang asked. Weiss missed the mischievous smile on her lips as she was still facing Jaune and held out the bottle. Before she could grab it, Jaune sat up and bellowed "NO!". Yang pouted briefly before giving the now fully conscious boy a grudging smile. He silently asked for the bottle from Weiss who couldn't help but feel her heart rate increase ever so slightly as his hand gently grazed hers.

"You're smart Vomit Boy. Too smart."

"Well, it's not like that's a new trick. I've fallen for it too many times." Yang held her hand out and Jaune grabbed it and pulled himself up with the help of the firebrand. They bumped fists and quickly hugged, sharing a laugh.

For the first time, the group looked around and noticed the crumbling ruins of an ancient temple on the other side of the clearing. When they arrived, they noticed the waist high columns that were mostly empty, apart from four golden figures, one for each pair. Ruby and Nora zoomed ahead and grabbed their choice in figures, the horses and ran off happily. Weiss and Jaune walked up to one of the other two columns. Both held the same piece.

"Is that-" Weiss started before Jaune answered the question that she was going to ask.

"A rook."

"Then the pieces that Nora and Ruby grabbed are knights." Jaune silently bobbed his head in agreement as he counted the total number of pillars.

"Twelve pillars, twelve pairs, six teams. Gold and, I'd guess, silver rooks, bishops and knights."

"Why not kings or queens?"

"Only one on each side; the rest, apart from the pawns, have pairs on each side."

"Mhhh." Weiss hated to admit that he reached the end point before she did, but he was surprisingly smart at times. He watched as she picked up the remaining rook, the other having been picked up by Blake and Yang.

"It's not very heavy... Gold leaf." She wouldn't let him have the last laugh. She handed the statue to Jaune, who weighed it in his hand. He nodded.

"Yep. Contents?" He tossed it to Weiss, who caught it deftly. She shook it briefly, before tossing it back.

"Beads." He smiled and grinned at her.

"Yep."

* * *

The trip back to the cliff was rather uneventful. They stayed in a pack and made enough noise to warn off any straggling Grimm. Soon, they had arrived at the place that they had been launch from. Jaune turned and looked over the cliff. Weiss walked up beside him and he nodded her on, giving her hand a quick squeeze and a half-smile. She joined the rest the group who walked back to Beacon. He stood peacefully, watching the horizon. He needed his alone time every day. He was naturally an introvert, so he needed some quiet to make sure he didn't go insane. What could he say? Everyone has a quirk. Like Yang, who has the slightly endearing habit of waiting for him to finish with his self prescribed medicine to his social illness that she is convinced that he has. Which happened to be ending in 3, 2, 1 and...

"Time's up!" She bounded up to him.

"Hey Yang. What's up?" He'd grown used to the intrusion and she knew to not disturb him during his quiet time. School was boring and hard when he was ignoring her. She punched him directly in the chest, making him groan.

"That was for calling me a 'daft dragon'." Jaune rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Well, telling me to hold on to a giant bird 100 feet in the air is kind of pointless. Anyone would hold on in that situation."

"...Stop making sense, Vomit Boy." She moved to stand next to him, looking over the cliff at the emerald forest below.

"I have that problem. Along with my introversion, I'm surprised you can even put up with me, let alone hang around with me willingly." Yang bumped him with her shoulder.

"Diversity is the spice of life. Plus it makes you more human. It hard for someone to like a perfect person. You human beings are much easier to love." Jaune cracked an easy grin.

"So what? Your not one of us?" Yang deadpanned.

"That's what you got out of that?" Jaune glanced at Yang, cowering under her crimson glare.

"I, uh, ah of course not! You said that human beings are easier to lo-" He suddenly froze, his eyes widening. Yang smiled softly.

"So, I do, y'know. Well maybe not _love_ love, but I'd like to try it if you wouldn't be opposed..." Yang suddenly blushed heavily and lost her nerve, trailing off and looking at the ground. She felt Jaune pull her into a hug and she grabbed his shirt, pulling herself even deeper into the hug. She felt him lightly kiss her head and smiled.

"That sounds great. Just one note, Weiss, I think, likes me also and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about her or you and Blake in comparison. And there's the whole Blake situation." She looked up into his apprehensive eyes and smiled encouragingly.

"We'll figure it out, okay. Plus I wouldn't be opposed to some lesbo action." She grinned wickedly. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle as he cringed.

"Gods Yang. That's just wrong."

"What if they're into it? Would it still be wrong?"

"...Dammit." They shared a quick grin, pressing their foreheads together.

"So... Are you gonna kiss me or what?" Jaune chuckled.

"Or what." Yang flinched and turned away in a huff. Jaune caught up with her in less than two steps and spun her about, one hand caressing her cheek. "I'm not that cruel Yang." Suddenly his lips found hers, burning both of them to the core. His free hand fell upon her other cheek as she pulled him closer with her hands which were firmly attached to his shirt front. She felt his thumbs tracing circles on her cheeks as they came together in perfect harmony. They slowly broke apart, Yang pressing her head into his chest again.

"I wouldn't mind sharing if you kissed me like that every time."

"Let's head back."

* * *

When they finally returned to the campus of Beacon, they joined their teammates who were so distracted by a rather comedic scene involving a green haired professor who was rapidly telling off a tan skinned boy with untamed curls who was grinning fiercely that they didn't notice their absence. They watched as the boy just laughed as the teacher, who actually seemed to be actually having an animated conversation with the boy, spoke.

"Of course Professor Ooblek. The input to output ratio of dust reactions can be easily altered if you know your weapon well enough."

"Outstanding! After you are assigned to your team, I would be quite happy to meet with you more about this. Though, to be honest you should be speaking to Professor Goodwitch. This is her area of expertise."

"Great! I should be going, my partner is a bit temperamental and would be agitated with me if I didn't show up on time." The two shook hands, briefly as the man bade the striking boy farewell.

"It was absolutely delightful to meet you, Leon."

"You as well, Professor Ooblek." He noticed the group assembled and, more notably, Weiss. He waved at her enthusiastically which she returned with a fraction of happiness. "Hey! Ice Princess! I gotta go, but Annabelle, Renya and Pipes are all here too! We'll catch up later?" He didn't wait for an answer, but ran off.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! Do you think he heard me?" She looked at Jaune, not even a bit surprised that he was there. He shrugged.

"That irritating fuck has a point. We should get ready too."

* * *

**So that's a thing. I certainly hope you got the reference since I plan on the Teams being reoccurring characters. So I got some Empire and some Year of the Dragon in that chapter, but if you are annoyed by the lack of actual Empire and any Lunar Eclipse, the next will greatly make up for it! Personally, I'm not really feeling the Year of the Dragon in this, but I really don't know. If you've read any of my other stuff, you probably noticed the difference between those kisses and this one. **

**I have a request of you all. Please come up with some ideas for a Team with (A or C), (P or J), (P or M) and (L or V) in any order really, and (J or G), (R or R), (F or Z) and (H or L). Again you all should know these references since it is really popular right now and has the third most fics in the book section. These are not the characters verbatim but my take on them for the purpose of having lots of shanagans. **

**Thank You all for putting up with my extremely long hiatus, but I had to write essays on Crime and Punishment, The Assault (the book), and Chronicle of a Death Foretold for my LA class.**

**I probably won't update again this month since exams are upon us and I'm real stressed. But when summer rolls around, I will try to update more regularly, but no promises. :(**

**Thanks again,**

**Court**


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